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Friday 18 January 2013

Costume Designers Guild Awards Nominees Announced



Today the Nominees were announced for the 15th Annual Costume Designers Guild Awards. It has to be considered one of the lesser events of awards season, lacking the star studded red carpet of other award shows, but as an award ceremony voted on by peers must hold no small credit to the nominees and is of particular interest to The Costume Rail.

According to their website 'The Costume Designers Guild was founded in 1953 by a group of 30 motion picture costume designers and was created in response to the changing needs of the movie industry. The Costume Designers Guild promotes the artistry, technical expertise and creative vision of their union members in the field of film and television costume design. Today, its membership consists of over 800 members and includes motion picture, television, and commercial costume designers, assistant costume designers and illustrators throughout the world.'

Below is the list of nominees:

EXCELLENCE IN CONTEMPORARY FILM

* Beasts of the Southern Wild – Stephanie Lewis
* The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel – Louise Stjernsward
* Silver Linings Playbook – Mark Bridges
* Skyfall – Jany Temime
* Zero Dark Thirty – George L. Little

 Last Years Winner
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Trish Summerville

I can't really see a stand out winner on this one. If it was up to the Brits Skyfall would win (they love their James Bond with a fierce passion that I just can't understand), but as it is I don't think any of them stand out as being better than the rest. They all lack a strong visual character that makes GWDT so compelling.



EXCELLENCE IN PERIOD FILM

* Anna Karenina – Jacqueline Durran
* Argo – Jacqueline West
* Les Mis̩rables РPaco Delgado
* Lincoln – Joanna Johnston
* Moonrise Kingdom – Kasia Walicka-Maimone

Last Years Winner
W.E. – Arianne Phillips

The obvious question here is where is Django? Sharen Davis's costume design was absolutely spot on, and after being ignored at the Oscars and BAFTAs, one has to start asking, who has she pissed off?
I haven't seen Lincoln, but I found Anna Kareninas and Les Mis' costumes highly uninspired. Argo is quality costuming but I just can't see it winning in a period film section. I’d like to see Moonrise Kingdom take this as I found its costumes quirky and visual, but also telling the story and character with finesse, and not pushing the 'quirky' barrier into the realm of being distracting.
I thought the contemporary bit of the costume design for W.E. was some of the weirdest styling I'd ever seen, but the period stuff was immaculate.




EXCELLENCE IN FANTASY FILM
* Cloud Atlas – Kym Barrett, Pierre-Yves Gayraud
* The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey – Ann Maskrey, Richard Taylor, Bob Buck
* The Hunger Games – Judianna Makovsky
* Mirror Mirror – Eiko Ishioka
* Snow White and the Huntsman – Colleen Atwood

Last Years Winner 
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt 2 - Jany Temime

For me the stand out film is Snow White and the Huntsman. I’m a huge fan of Colleen Atwood’s non-Burton work. She always combines practicality and beauty so effortlessly and truly understands designing for film in a way that I don't think anyone else can come close to. I have not seen costumes as beautiful as Charlize Theron's in this film in a very long time. The Hobbit didn't really give us anything new that we hadn't seen in the LOTR trilogy, and I found the costumes for The Hunger Games and Mirror Mirror drew too much attention to themselves in a bad way, taking me out of zone of the film to say 'What's going on there?'
Let’s face it, the final instalment of HP could have had the characters dressed in potato sacks and it still would have got the nod for outstanding achievement in costuming for an eight movie franchise. As it was, the costumes were consistent to the high level of costuming we've come to expect from Harry Potter.



OUTSTANDING CONTEMPORARY TELEVISION SERIES
* Girls – Jennifer Rogien
* Nashville – Susie DeSanto
* Revenge – Jill Ohanneson
* Smash – Molly Maginnis
* Treme – Alonzo Wilson, Costume Designer. Ann Walters, co-Costume Designer

Last Years Winner
Glee - Lou Eyrich and Jennifer Eve 

I think there's something very interesting, edgy, and more importantly character driven about Girls, but I can't see anyone beating Smash. Everyone loves a musical number, they had Marilyn Monroe costumes, Glee won last year, what more can I say?



OUTSTANDING PERIOD/FANTASY TELEVISION SERIES
* Boardwalk Empire – John Dunn, Lisa Padovani
* Downton Abbey – Caroline McCall
* Game of Thrones – Michele Clapton

Last Years Winner
Boardwalk Empire - John A. Dunn and Lisa Padovani

I can't choose between these, they are all sublime, although I am a little confused why there's no mention of Mad Men. Is that so 2007? But I'm going to predict Game of Thrones to win, if only because Boardwalk Empire and Downton Abbey both received awards last year.


 
OUTSTANDING MADE FOR TELEVISION MOVIE OR MINI SERIES
* American Horror Story: Asylum, Season 2 – Lou Eyrich
* Hatfields & McCoys – Karri Hutchinson
* Hemingway & Gellhorn – Ruth Myers

Last Years Winner
Downton Abbey - Susannah Buxton

I haven't seen any of these so I can't really comment. But I love having an excuse to pop a Downton Abbey pic up here. Incidentally a great image of how to dress 3 very different characters and figure shapes in monochromatic historical accuracy.



EXCELLENCE IN COMMERCIAL COSTUME DESIGN
* Capital One: Couture – Roseanne Fiedler
* Captain Morgan Black – Judianna Makovsky
* Dos Equis: Most Interesting Man in the World – Julie Vogel

Last Years Winner 
Swiffer: "Country Dirt Cowgirl - Roseanne Fiedler 

Living in London I'm even more out of my depth on this one. I have drunk Captain Morgan’s though which is as good as any reason to back this horse.

Last Years Special Awards
Lacoste Spotlight Award: Kate Beckinsale
Distinguished Collaborator Award: Clint Eastwood with Costume Designer Deborah Hopper
(Deborah Hopper has costume designed most of the films Clint Eastwood directed in the past 10 years including Million Dollar Baby, Changeling, Letters from Iwo Jima)
Disaronno Career Achievement in Film Award: Marlene Stewart
(known for a host of mega budget films including: T2, Tropic Thunder, True Lies)
Disaronno Career Achievement in Television Award: Lou Eyrich
(known for Glee, Nip Tuck, American Horror Story)

The 15th Annual Costume Designers Guild Awards will be held on Tuesday Feb 19th, 2013. I'm looking forward to finding out who the winners are.
 

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